1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the art of skis and methods for making the same. Indeed, this invention has for its principal object the production of a composite ski material which greatly improves the quality of the ski.
2. The Prior Art
There have been innumerable attempts to improve the strength and durability of skis without the loss in the requisite flexibility of the skis and without increasing the weight or altering the geometry of the skis beyond the preferred weight and geometry for optimum performance. One very typical approach to improving ski strength involves reinforcing wood laminae with glass fiber reinforcing materials. Representative, but certainly not all inclusive of such approaches, are the following: U.S. Pat. No. 2,213,903; U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,227; U.S. Pat. No. 2,428,325; U.S. Pat. No. 2,634,136; U.S. Pat. No. 2,184,791.
Recent attempts in improving the quality of skis has centered around the use of composite materials and structures, particularly composite materials employing plastics. Representative of these attempts are the following: U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,178; U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,898; U.S. Pat. No. 3,201,138; U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,784 and French Pat. No. 1,241,437.
In spite of the large growth of these fabrication techniques the resultant skis still have major shortcomings such as decreasing flexibility and performance with increasing strength and loss of dampening characteristics. Indeed, an excessive number of component parts employed in some skis results in skis that do not have the requisite durability.